World Oceans Day: Sustainable Seafood
And it’s clear that we all have a stake in what’s happening in the planet’s oceans. Did you know that between 1950 and 1994, ocean fishermen doubled the number of boats out fishing and developed more effective fishing gear, with the end result being they increased their catches by 400%? In 1989, the world’s catch leveled off: that’s all the fish the planet can produce. Increasing the size of fishing fleets isn’t going to put more fish in the oceans.
The only way to get more fish is to raise them. Like chickens. On a farm.
Almost one-third of the seafood you eat comes from fish farms. Salmon and shrimp are farm-raised to supplement those that are caught in the wild, while some fish—tilapia and catfish in particular—are almost exclusively farmed. Sustainable seafood (that is, using methods that can be sustained by the environment) is seafood that’s either fished or farmed in ways that maintain or increase long-term production without jeopardizing affected ecosystems.
What does all that mean for you?
- The choices you make drives the marketplace. Just like with other resources, if we don’t conserve fish now, our children and their children may never know what it’s like to eat fish.
- Some people have concerns about the implications of eating farmed fish.
- Many people are concerned with both the environment and the provenance of the foods they eat.
Want some help making choices? Download this free pocket guide for recommendations for seafood available in New York State—and bring it with you when you do your seafood shopping at Bliss Shurfine Food Mart!